Course Expectations

Tips for Success

The following expectations will help you be successful in this course. Please carefully review these expectations and follow them.

  1. Log into the course several times each week to check the course content, announcements, conversations, and discussions.
  2. Keep up with the weekly readings and assignments. Students who keep up with the weekly reading and assignments tend to do much better than those who do not.
  3. Please do not miss an assignment deadline. Refer to the course schedule/calendar to ensure that you submit assignments on time.  Refer to the syllabus for situations where an assignment will be late or missed due to an excusable absence.
  4. Remember that academic integrity will be appraised according to the student academic behavior standards outlined in The Golden Rule of the University of Central Florida’s Student Handbook.

Notifications

Each semester, review your Notification settings to make sure you receive course information in a timely manner. Use this notification guide Links to an external site. to make adjustments.

Conversations

Conversations will be an integral part of this course. Make sure you:

  1. Check your inbox at least twice per week (more often is better).
  2. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you send a message. Generally, two days is considered reasonable amount of time to receive a reply.
  3. Be courteous and considerate. Being honest and expressing yourself freely is very important but being considerate of others online is just as important as in the classroom.
  4. Make every effort to be clear. Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.
  5. Do not use all caps. This makes the message very hard to read and is considered "shouting." Check spelling, grammar, and punctuation (you may want to compose in a word processor, then cut and paste the message into the discussion or message).
  6. Break up large blocks of text into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.

Interaction Guidelines

Many of the "rules of the road" that apply to conversations also apply to the use of interactive tools used in this course. Use the following conventions when interacting with the instructor and fellow students:

  1. While using synchronous tools, such as chat and conferences, be located in a quiet, private environment. This will help you stay clear of disturbances.
  2. If you want to send a personal message to the instructor or to another student, use conversations rather than the discussions (see Conversations).
  3. Be patient. Don’t expect an immediate response when you post to a discussion.
  4. Respect each other’s ideas, feelings and experience.
  5. Be courteous and considerate. It is important to be honest and to express yourself freely, but being considerate of others is just as important and expected online, as it is in the classroom.
  6. Explore disagreements and support assertions with data and evidence.
  7. Be sure to post discussions in the appropriate discussion topic.
  8. Do not use postings such as "I agree," "I don’t know either," "Who cares," or "ditto." They do not add to the discussion, take up space on the Discussions, and will not be counted for assignment credit.  A rubric for each discussion assignment will be provided with the assignment.
  9. Avoid posting large blocks of text. If you must, break them into paragraphs and use a space between paragraphs.
  10. During a discussion assignment, deadlines for posting to and replying will be specified with each assignment. It is a good practice to always check the discussions tool multiple times during the week.

Viruses and Redundancy

A virus can spell disaster. Your use of a reputable anti-virus program is a requirement for participation in this course. AVG Links to an external site. is a great, free antivirus program. Malwarebytes Links to an external site. is a great anti-malware program.  The UCF IT department has a number of recommendations for students.

Back up your files using One Drive in Office365. Technical issues can and will happen. These problems do occur and are really inconvenient, however, they are not a valid excuse for failing to get your work in on time. Store your documents using One Drive to minimize the impact of such events.

Technical Resources

  • Center for Distributed Learning's website provides information about support services and resources available for distance learners (e.g., Service Desk, Technology Commons, and campus computer labs).
  • Webcourses@UCF Support provides technical support for students taking online courses at UCF.
  • Knights Online: Resources specific for online students including Webcourses@UCF tutorials.

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